Radical wristwatches

There are occasional moments of insanity when you would rather tuck away your elegant black-tie timepiece and instead strap onto your wrist a sporty watch with visual heft. That’s when you’d turn to these wristwatches. These are highly complex mechanical beasts that belong to the 22nd century.

CVSTOS: Challenge Minute Repeater Tourbillon Sport Titanium.

CVSTOS: Challenge Minute Repeater Tourbillon Sport Titanium

Your thoughts are probably racing towards Franck Muller when you see the tonneau-shaped case, curved crystal and oversized tourbillon at 6 o’clock – but Swiss haute horologist CVSTOS who have been in the business since 2005 have really come into their own, their avant-garde timepieces are acquiring cult status among collectors. The manual-winding watch has an additional complication of a minute repeater worked into it, making this a technically accomplished timepiece that commands a price just over a quarter of a million dollars. $272,000

Rebellion Prometheus T3000.

Rebellion: Prometheus T3000

If Transformers were to ever live on your wrist, this is what it would look like. Made from grade 5 titanium and limited to 25 pieces, it’s take-no- prisoners level tough. The three-dimensional movement that rises from below the sapphire crystal is made from the same aluminium used to make fighter jets. There are six chain linked barrels within that movement that explains why you get nearly 1,000 hours – or 42 days – of power reserve on this timepiece (on an average, most mechanical watches have a reserve of 7 days). $1.2million

Dewitt Academia Tourbillon Force Constante À Chaîne Jewellery.

Dewitt: Academia Tourbillon Force Constante À Chaîne Jewellery

The founder of eponymous watchmaker DeWitt, Jérôme, is a direct descendant of Emperor Napoleon. Jérôme was a businessman who set up his own watchmaking unit in Geneva when he realised that he could create timepieces that were as beautiful and technically sound as the ones he used to collect. This timepiece is a piece of high jewellery as much as it is a statement piece of mechanical mastery – which explains the 24 ‘imperial columns’ motif on the bezel of the 43mm timepiece with an 18k rose gold case that frames a tourbillon with a chain-and-fusée transmission arrangement visible on the dial. $632,500